Nico scores for Force India, finishes 8th at US Grand Prix

The result means the team has scored points in the last eight races. Force India's other driver, Paul Di Resta, came home in the 15th spot.

"Another tough race but very satisfying to have so many good battles and score another four points. I think we squeezed the maximum from the car and should be pleased with what we achieved," Hulkenburg, who will join Sauber next season, said after the race.

"For the first few laps we looked very strong, but after lap ten the tyres started to fade away. When we switched to the hard tyres we were not so competitive so it was just a case of pushing hard to stay in the points.

"The last few laps were not easy because I was getting massive pressure from the Williams pair, who were very quick through sector one. They had the advantage of DRS and it was not easy to keep them behind me. There was quite a bit of fighting but I managed to stay ahead," added the German.

Di Resta said he made a mistake by taking the second pit stop.

"I made a good start and for the first few laps we were in quite a strong position and moving forward with good lap times. Maybe we waited too long before pitting because I became vulnerable to Senna after my stop and was struggling on cold tyres with tyre warm-up," he said. MORE